Hearst Effort to Block Union ‘Fuels Fire’ Among Mag Staffers
Business Insider: The Hearst response to the union push by magazine employees has left some workers feeling angry and patronized. The appearance of the anti-union website "fueled the fire," one staffer said. "It feels like the company is desperate to get us to...
Meredith Chief Sees Big Future in Special-Interest Magazines
Mr Magazine: In the last 12 months, Meredith has sold about 19 million copies of special interest publications, says magazines boss Doug Olson. "It is a very profitable business for us. We think there’s a lot of opportunities still there. We think there is more to...
Conde Nast Publishes Vogue Edition in Italy Without Photos
USA Today: Vogue Italia has released its January issue, but it doesn't look like what one would typically expect. Gone are the glossy photos that typically grace the magazine. Instead, the publication ran illustrations. The change comes as Vogue Italia looks to...
Maven-Sports Illustrated Writer Steps Down After Accusation
Awful Announcing: Last week, North Carolina-based radio host Jasmyn Fritz tweeted a screenshot of harassing messages from Brant Wilkerson-New, a writer with Sports Illustrated Maven. Wilkerson-New later announced that he would be “stepping away from...
Tribune Journos Eye Local Ownership to Fend Off Hedge Fund
Baltimore Business Journal: An effort is underway by some journalists at the Baltimore Sun to find new, local ownership for the 183-year-old newspaper. The move follows the November purchase of 32% of Tribune Publishing stock by Alden Global...
New York Times Hires Bloomberger for New Tech Newsletter
Talking Biz News: The New York Times has named Shira Ovide to help lead a new technology newsletter. Ovide joins the Times from Bloomberg Opinion, where she has been a tech columnist since 2015. Ovide will explore how tech affects all aspects of modern...
Schneps Media to Merge Free Newspapers Metro, amNewYork
New York Post: Metro New York, one of the city’s two freebie daily papers, will disappear following the sale of assets to Schneps Media, which already owns the other freebie paper amNew York. A merged paper will be reflagged as amNewYork Metro starting Jan....
The Hill Owner Hunts for Buyers, Investors for DC Publication
Politico: Jimmy Finkelstein, owner of The Hill, is shopping his publication to various media owners, either as investors or potential buyers, according to six people familiar with the matter. Finkelstein, in an interview, called the premise of the story “not...
BuzzFeed Reports Growth in Commerce, Preps Memberships
Wall Street Journal: BuzzFeed’s biggest growth has come from commerce, which now makes up 21% of the company’s overall revenue. The company also is seeking to create a membership model, with an eye on creating niche social communities for people with shared...
Analysis: Internet Media Employment Triples in Past Decade
Ad Age: Employment at internet media firms has more than tripled to 277,000 jobs since the Great Recession ended in June 2009. Over that period, internet media’s share of U.S. media jobs has surged to 36 percent from 11 percent. The big losses came in print...
Survey: Editors, Writers Want Higher Pay, More Job Flexibility
Ed2010: The Talent Fairy recruitment agency surveyed its community of editorial leaders, managers, editors, writers and other content creators about the state of the media industry, what they are looking for in their next role, and the brands they most...
Apple TV+ in Production Deal with Former HBO Boss Plepler
New York Times: In the 10 months since Richard Plepler stepped down as HBO’s chief executive, CBS and Viacom merged, and Disney and Apple rolled out new streaming services. The entertainment world is in flux, and to start the new year, Plepler is making changes of...
Disney Kicks Off 2020 on the Rise Amid Streaming Optimism
CNBC: Disney shares were on the rise to kick off 2020 after some Wall Street analysts estimated significant growth from its new streaming service and recommended clients keep buying the stock. Disney+ is predicted to attract 25 million users by the end of the first...
Sony, Microsoft Ready for Video Game Console War in 2020
Fox Business: Microsoft and Sony will each unveil the next generations of their flagship video game consoles in 2020, setting up a battle between two of the industry’s biggest rivals for consumer cash and attention. Both consoles promise to deliver powerful next-gen...
Amazon, Google Head to CES with Digital Assistants in Tow
Bloomberg: The world’s biggest technology companies are heading to Las Vegas for the annual CES trade show next week. But don’t expect any breakthrough new hardware. Amazon and Google will promote existing digital-assistant...
Google Alum Says Internet Giant Values Profits Over People
Fox Business: Former Google executive Ross LaJeunesse slammed the tech giant for valuing profits more than human rights in an essay. Google’s former head of international relations wrote that Google’s phrase, “Don’t be evil” had become “nothing more than a corporate...
Facebook to Live Stream Pre-Show for Golden Globe Awards
Variety: The Golden Globes red carpet will roll out again on Facebook, which reupped its deal as the exclusive live-streaming partner for the 2020 awards’ official pre-show on Sunday. Facebook, for the third year running, teamed with the Hollywood Foreign Press...
Verizon Media, G/O Media Rank at Top of 2020 ‘Death Watch’
Ars Technica: It’s time again to look forward with ennui at yet another new year. But when we say “Death Watch,” what we really mean is that we are looking at tech-connected entities facing some economic, cultural or legal...
Fox News Still No 1 Conservative News Site as Rivals Emerge
MediaPost: While Fox News remains the most dominant source of right-wing news coverage, several up-and-comers have been ascending -- as least in terms of digital unique user gains, according to a year-end analysis of Comscore data released by...
Oprah Kicks Off 2020 Wellness Tour with Weight Watchers
Fox Business: Oprah Winfrey is kicking off her wellness tour with Weight Watchers just in time for the New Year, and she’s doing it with the help of some famous friends. Oprah’s first stop on her nine-city tour will be Fort...
Bloomberg Campaign Moves to Former New York Times HQ
Politico: Mike Bloomberg’s rapidly expanding presidential campaign is moving to Times Square, setting up its headquarters at the old New York Times building on West 43rd Street. The relocation comes as Bloomberg’s campaign pushes past 300...
McClatchy Freezes Benefit Payments to Some Former Execs
MarketWatch: McClatchy has frozen pension payments to some former executives and enlisted the services of a bankruptcy-administration firm as it seeks a government takeover of its retirement plan. The move is the latest sign of liquidity pressure faced by the...
Washington Post Hopes to Find New Subscribers via TikTok
Adweek: The Washington Post’s TikTok account serves as a window into the newsroom, with comedic takes at the hard news. The Post recently added a video with a URL redirecting users to a site that gives new subscribers a discounted digital...
American Media is Yet to Sell National Enquirer Despite Deal
New York Post: American Media and its 80 percent majority owner Chatham Asset Management have still not sold the beleaguered National Enquirer some nine months after they said they had an agreement to sell to Hudson News boss James...
Conde Nast Faces Call to Fire Vanity Fair Writer Over Tweet
Daily Mail: A Vanity Fair film critic is facing calls to be fired after he mocked Beyoncé's 7-year-old daughter Blue Ivy on Twitter, saying he "felt sorry" that "Jay-Z's genes are really about to hit her." The since-deleted tweet sparked fury...
Infowars Boss to Pay $100,000 for Sandy Hook Hoax Claim
Reuters: Alex Jones has been ordered to pay $100,000 in court costs and legal fees stemming from a lawsuit over his claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre of school children was a hoax. Jones is the founder of the Infowars radio show and...
BuzzFeed Vows Support for British Edition Amid Big Losses
Press Gazette: BuzzFeed UK made a loss of £9.4 million in 2018, new full-year accounts show. The directors say they have “received assurances of the continued support” of the group’s US parent company for at least a further 12...
Group Nine Media CEO Predicts Trouble for Smaller Players
AdExchanger: Group Nine Media CEO Ben Lerer: "2019 was a major shake out for digital media. The tough times for smaller players aren’t over, but in 2020, I believe you’ll see the companies that have amassed real scale emerge as the true, next generation leaders."...
Opinion: Brands Should Acquire Dying Websites, Magazines
Ad Age: Joe Pulizzi, CEO of the Content Marketing Institute, says he believes more brands should buy struggling magazines and content producers. He says the shuttered Grantland, a sports blog, was a missed opportunity for Nike or Under...
AT&T, Disney, Apple, Discovery See Big Stock Gains in 2019
Variety: Disney had a banner year on Wall Street. So did Apple, Facebook, AT&T and Discovery amid another year of dramatic shifts for the media and digital giants. Disney’s decisions dominated the discussion about the fate of traditional...